


The Poetry of Fragments

by olimakiella



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Apocalypse, M/M, Magic and Technology, Muggle London, Post-Hogwarts, Tour of London basically, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, with zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-01
Updated: 2012-09-01
Packaged: 2017-11-13 08:43:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/501613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olimakiella/pseuds/olimakiella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The city of London has seen its fair share of tragedies in the past few months, but when a Muggle disease hits the Wizarding world, people start dying and rising again dramatically changed and fiendishly clever. A group of operatives are called in wipe London's slate clean but as they unravel the mystery they realise the Muggles aren't the only ones to blame. The action starts at Athena College Library in western London...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Poetry of Fragments

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dark_branwen](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=dark_branwen).



> Written for the HD Career Fair of 2009. Prompt: Harry is a totally badass government super soldier that is part of an elite taskforce that gets in to save a city that is overrun by zombie. Draco is a cat-loving librarian. Bonus points if the fic also has Sirius, Remus (Head Librarian?), Snape, Seamus, Luna (especially if she's on aforementioned taskforce), and Dean.’
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended."...you're the first one I'm coming after…" said by Rachel Weisz in The Mummy. "Big feet, big shoes" scene based on Notting Hill. Don't own Barbie. Boris Johnson Quote from: wiki/City_Hall_(London).Architectural details of City Hall London from./gla/city_hall/city_hall_. The Metallica Mosh pit phrase: Been in one. Survived. "You are resisting I do not advise it" from Dante's Cove.

Doctor Vector typed furiously into her computer as the tears sprouted from her eyes. The face of evil was staring at her hungrily, tapping a long fingernail on the glass. Cocking its head to the side, it eyed her and then the thick layer of glass that seemed to be separating it from her. She sobbed uncontrollably and wiped her eyes on her sleeve as she continued to key in her message. Her heart jumped every time she heard the tap-tap-tapping of the claw-like nails clunking against the window that stretched the height and width of the laboratory. The monster narrowed its eyes at her, growling. Her eyes snapped up immediately and she felt a deep stabbing tendril of terror strike through her spinal cord when it grinned at her. It displayed a neat row of teeth coloured red with blood. Inhaling sharply, she watched it pace backward barefoot, not watching where it was going but knowingly side-stepping the dead bodies it had dropped in its wake. Vector cried for them, they had been her colleagues, her friends. Flitwick's eyes were open and unseeing, staring up at her emptily as the naked figure walked over him easily, leaving bloody footprints on the polished, tiled floor.

Not wanting to waste time, the doctor quickly uploaded all the files into one large attachment. As she waited for it to finish, she couldn't help but fearfully track the movements of the thing that had practically eaten her department alive. She screamed as she watched the computer screen fly toward her from the other side of the glass. Instinctively, she recoiled. It bounced. Nothing. Vector let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in and glanced at the screen in front of her. Eighty percent. "Come on,  _please_  come on." Her foot was tapping, she couldn't help it. The percentage gradually increased. A chair crashed against the glass barrier along with a loud sharp cry from the killing machine as it realised, with frustration, that the glass was yet to dent. In the midst of it, Vector heard a jingle from the computer and looked back down to see the files had been completely uploaded. As she switched back to the email, she suddenly paused as movement caught her eye from the side of the room. It was Flitwick, he had moved, she was sure of it.

He blinked.

"Oh god, oh god, no." They had discussed this before, in endless meetings and cross-country conference calls. Without a means to test it on humans, however, as animals did not work, it had all been guesswork and estimations. Her hands trembled even more violently as she realised a lot more of them had begun to twitch and move stiffly. The beast either didn't notice or didn't care. It continued hurling objects at the screen roaring with impatience before it picked up the heavy steel table it had been laying on dead not half an hour before. The table must have easily weighed the equivalent of ten full-grown men, but it picked it up with ease and threw it as if it weighed no more than a small child. It flew and hit the direct centre of the glass barrier. The sliver of fear grew exponentially as she saw the crack and heard it crackle in a vein-like formation further and further to the top. She heard a huff of satisfaction and sobbed harder. It was over. Quickly, she ended her missive with a broken,  _I'm sorry_ , and pressed SEND as the beast took a running jump and careened its way into the screen, sending glass shattering as loud as her scream.

It was 9:27 when the email was confirmed as sent. The confirmation message went unheeded, however, as the writer was already dead.

 

 

 

The walls of Athena College Library were lit with artificial sconces that shone lamplight throughout the narrow aisles of books. It smelled like old paper, hidden crisp packets and polished wood. These were all things Draco Malfoy had known most of his life since he'd been visiting his cousin there as a toddler onwards. Sirius Black was a relative on his mother's side and rebel to the family that most didn't care for. Sirius Black, however, was one who didn't take well to being swept under the carpet. He'd shown up at various family events since he'd been thrown out revelling in the awkward silences and coughs of discomfort and disapproval. Draco admired him for it and thus modelled his behaviour after him. This was mainly because of the one lesson he had been taught by his cousin that had stuck with him for life: "Live as you wish to and fuck all others" Since Draco had never wanted to live his father's way, it appealed to him greatly. So, if his father told him to go to a Wizarding University, he went to a muggle one. If he told him to cut his hair, he grew it out. If he told him to marry a rich pureblood girl... Well, that was another reason he admired his cousin so much. He'd willingly been thrown out of the family solely for his school friend, Remus Lupin, who above all else, was a werewolf. It had shocked the family to no end and at once he'd been forbidden to see him.

In true Sirius Black style and, in a manner Draco could only wish he had been a witness to, Sirius Black had kindly told the family to fuck off, and went to see him anyway.

Needless to say when Draco had come out of his own stylishly designed closet, the family had gone up in arms. Ultimatums were set and accounts were frozen but Draco hadn't cared. Sirius and Remus both told him he was welcome to stay with them on campus at any time. With the money he had in his own accounts and enough credential to take out a student loan, Draco had enlisted into Athena College in West London – Muggle London – and was working part time in the library during his studies to help pay off his loan. Since the pandemic had broken out in Muggle London, though, the halls and library were empty after the mass evacuation London officials had executed last week. Only those of Wizarding decent had opted to stay and hidden themselves away to avoid catching it. Draco's entire day was now filled with his alone time. He'd graduated summer gone and was now just spending his time relaxing in the large cushy green chairs next to an alcove by the window. The chairs had all been packed on top the tables, which had been nailed down last summer vacation to stop students who wanted to join tables together. They never put them back and Draco was sick to death of moving them around. He'd appealed to have them cemented down but the Board had opted for nailing, which was just as good, really.

Draco sighed and burrowed deeper into the chair with his cup of hot chocolate. His robe scrunched up behind him and he wriggled to get it back down and folded his sock-covered feet under him to stop the cold air from reaching him in the empty library. Sirius and Remus had long since vacated the room to go to bed. With Remus being the Head Librarian and Sirius... well, Sirius wasn't really anything beside a boarder, actually – they had a set of rooms for themselves, almost like a suite next to the library. It was accessible through the office behind a very clichéd bookshelf. Draco smiled to himself as he remembered how they both feigned sleepiness to get out of the room quickly by seven. Draco had just rolled his eyes and continued stacking chairs. After a long, hot shower, though, he did feel a bit tired.

Draco put down the Sun. It was a few weeks old due to the fact no news-seller was out and about since the big evacuation of London. Most of the city had vacated north where threat of the disease was low. Muggles took that kind of thing seriously, Draco noticed, the disease was killing them after all. The paper blasted off news of a virus going round and to steer clear of it by washing your hands every three seconds or some such rubbish. It was dated less than a week before the full blown epidemic was on their hands and muggles were dropping down in the streets like flies. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before putting them back on. It was times like these he was glad for being a wizard. One swish and flick could have any virus running miles from him if he so wished.

Draco's head snapped up as a short cheery jingle made itself known. He rolled his eyes wondering what insane person would be sending emails at one in the morning. He got up and tightened his dressing robe around himself. The polished wooden floor was chilled under his feet and he shivered for a second before he reached the computer behind the counter. He pulled up the browser and winced at the amount of emails they had. He hadn't checked them today because he had felt extra lazy. As he checked through, he saw some orders had come in from a Wizarding publisher in Australia. – sans animate charms (so completely muggle safe) – and were waiting for Remus to sign them and fax them back.  _Ah so not so late at night after all then, not for Australians anyway._

"Oops," Draco said biting his lip. He then shook off his guilt. He was tired of telling them both, especially Sirius, to take the computer course they'd forced him into so that things like this didn't go unnoticed. He scrolled down. "Ads, ads, ads, ads, ads – oh," he said stopping when he saw one from a dated three days ago, "And who are you, Dr. Vector?" he said clicking on it. He knew various Doctors and Scientists kept in touch with Remus because of the Medical Sciences faculty they'd just opened up. Remus was trying to get as many medical books as possible pertaining to the medical field and if a deal had been made, he'd need to know about it.

Draco read through it, preparing himself for the multitude of words he'd not be able to pronounce or understand but furrowed his eyebrows continuously when the message he read was unlike what he'd expected. His worry increased as he continued on to the end where the missive ended with a simple "I'm sorry". It sounded like a hoax, but a muggle Bio-Molecular Engineering Company would not know names such as 'Minister Fudge', and words such as 'Transfiguration' and 'Potions'.

  
  
  


In Trafalgar Square, three operatives were perched around the top rim of Nelson's Column, their ropes attached to the concrete with a strong sticking charm. "Where the fuck are they going?" The first said as she tracked the cluster of rabid shadows running along the ground. The night was quiet and the streets empty because of the exodus staged last week. She was glad the Londoners had listened to them. If they had any chance of catching these things, walking snacks were just going to slow the team down. It didn't matter right now though, right now all that mattered was the group they'd been stalking and chasing over two miles since they'd spotted them.

 _"They're heading West,"_  they all heard through the clear signal of their radios. It was their team leader and the head of twenty-four teams stationed all around London watching similar cases like this. Most had finished their tasks and reported back, already on their way home to base.  _"South-western, do you have them?"_

 _"Affirmative."_  The deep rich baritone that responded, she knew, belonged to the second in command, Lieutenant Thomas. He was a brilliant marksman so if he said he had them, with one word they'd be done for.

 _"On my mark."_  There was silence on the line. Then, suddenly, another voice rang in.

 _"Sir, we have a problem."_  Sergeant Finnigan's thick Irish brogue was noticeable anywhere. Stationed a little to the west of them, over the side of the Square, he was tracking a group that had broken free at their last rescue and detainment mission.

The three of them heard the Majors frustrated sigh over the airwaves.  _"If we have a problem Finnigan don't tell me we have one and just tell me the problem."_

_"Alright, they're all heading West while one's climbing the power line."_

There was silence. All of them on station two paused trying to figure out if what they heard was correct and wondered what would cause these creatures to do such a thing. And they  _were_  creatures, _monsters_ , if the term could be used. One team had found one hiding under the bed in some child's room. It was made funnier by the fact that there was no one in the house. All that waiting for nothing. One thing for sure, they were not human. Not anymore.  _"Say that again?"_

 _"Shit!"_  Thomas yelled as multitudes of sparks rose from the south and short fiery explosions sounded.

Suddenly, the world of London in the south and west went completely dark.

 _"You have got to be shitting me,"_  their leader mumbled.

  


"Fuck!" Draco said as the power went, switching off the lights. The surge protector connected to the computer kept the computer on long enough for him to save all the documents they had open. When the computer was logging off, something furry and decidedly feline jumped onto the counter and meowed. If it wasn't for the fact that she continuously did this, he would have jumped out of his skin. Sirius hadn't gotten used to her at all; must be the Animagus in him.

"Minerva, I've told you not to do that," he reprimanded her as he stroked her fur. "What if Sirius had been here, huh? You'd have scared the Merlin out of him," he said knowing that if she could, she would have smiled. It was almost as if she enjoyed tormenting the man. He shook his head and picked her up continuing to pet her. He walked through the short aisle in the dark, knowing the place by heart. He intended to get his book and feel his way out. He'd just reached the squishy chair when he heard something fall.

Through the new night-vision charm their researchers had developed, the team of seven were weaving their way through the street with ease. "Still heading West, Major," Thomas said quietly into his headpiece. "It looks like their heading for Athena."

 _"Well, shit. Just like They said."_  There was a sigh on the airwaves.  _"Alright, move in. Twenty minutes and we're out of there. Get to all of them, I don't care how by now. And call for back-up."_

 _"Copy that,"_  Finnigan said with glee.

  
  


The one thing about large empty libraries was that everything echoed. Even the smallest sound became loud and ominous. Draco frowned and looked around in the eerie blue light cast by the computer shutting down. He picked up his book and walked back to the counter but stopped suddenly at the large arched window, his breath catching as he heard heavy breathing. It wasn't close but... it wasn't far either. Then the computer shut down completely. Draco stood in the light of the moon that shone through the high arched windows as he heard the breathing accompanied by quick footsteps. They were very close to him when the shattering sound of glass penetrated his senses and he looked toward the window in time to see a dark human shape coming toward him. It knocked him down and kept him there before turning abruptly. All Draco heard then were gunshots. He hadn't really heard them before. They were a lot louder than they usually were on the television. He covered his ears idly noticing that Minerva was scampering away from him as he lay in his position on the floor.

_"They're all over, Major, we got some survivors but it looks like they just got in the way."_

"Okay, look for anyone else near the library. Send word. We blow the place in ten."

_"Copy that."_

In his anxiety, all Draco really heard was the part about blowing up the place. He turned his head sharply to look at the person that had him on the ground. As he did, he noticed a gruesome face staring at him hungrily in the shadows and his eyes widened in terror. The unsightly features were highlighted by the slip of moonlight that came in through the once magnificent window. Draco would have sighed in grief – that window had been drawn and studied by many an Art and History major – but at the moment he just screamed. He knew faces like that. They only meant one thing.

Suddenly, he was grabbed at the scruff of his dressing gown and dragged quickly across the room. He screamed more because in his trail the human-like creature followed him a lot quicker than Draco thought possible. As if having Draco dangled in front of him was just too much to handle. With a strength Draco didn't know any human could possess, he was practically  _thrown_  toward a table – the man using his momentum for Draco to travel the distance – and Draco was tossed a round, shiny object as he slid the rest of the way under the nailed down furniture. The ball that spun in his hand as he caught it then emitted a bright light that rose to the height of the table, spreading out to create a barrier around the table's edge. It sealed itself just in time for the creature to slam against it. Draco jumped in startled terror, sure it would get through. He wisely kept the shiny ball in his hand, though – he recognised a lifesaver when he saw one – and watched the monster cry out in pain as it began to convulse spastically on the ground. Soon, it stilled.

"Stay," he heard after another set of gunshots and looked to the person dressed all in black. His voice sounded English but he had on a helmet that hid his face. The entire outfit was black leather and near invisible in the darkness. He supposed that was the point of such outfits. Soon though, the head was gone and Draco only saw the man jump onto the table's surface above him, shooting at anything that moved in the shadows. Draco couldn't see anything or hear anything except for vicious cries and the thud of dropping bodies. He tried to cover his ears to it but the sound still crept through.

"Is there going to be any back-up for me soon?" Draco uncovered his ears to hear the man's voice.

_"We're bringing the helicopters in, Major. There will be an exit route soon."_

Between shots, Draco heard the man say, "I take it that means there isn't a ground level exit anymore." Draco felt his blood run cold.

_"Well, you can take it if you want, Major, just don't come crying to me when you die. They've multiplied. I've never seen so many at once."_

There was suddenly a banging sound of the library doors bursting open and a cascade of gunfire. "Over here," came the shout from above the table. There were more footsteps, these determined and focused in his direction. Draco crouched down further. "Span the area." Draco barely noticed the dark shapes moving around and even one going behind the counter into the office due to the faint light of the moon. He paused a brief moment to remember Sirius and Remus, hoping they were alright. His thoughts of guilt for not worrying about Remus or Sirius sooner were drowned out, however, by the sound of a helicopter approaching.

 _"Major, if you or your team are anywhere near the centre of the library, I suggest you move to the edges."_ There was a pause before the Major on the table above him yelled for his team to move.

Seconds later the ceiling exploded.

  


The ground shook as blocks of hand-painted stone fell to the ground. Draco cringed and kept his head down. When the dust cleared, there was a large open block of light that stretched from the ceiling to the ground. Draco edged closer to the edge of the barrier and looked up. The entire centrepiece of the ceiling was gone. It had been there for years, longer even, than Remus had worked there. He shook his head forgetting the situation only when he heard his cousin shouting his name. Relief flooded him when the two of them were in his sight, held tightly by two more figures all in black.

"Move out, it's gone in three." The table he was under was suddenly invaded. Draco moved back until his spine hit the table leg that stood nailed in the centre. "Are you Remus Lupin?" Draco looked up at the man in confusion. "I'll take that as a no. Are any of those two him?" Quickly, Draco nodded. "Good." The man looked around. "We've got him, let's go!" Draco's arm was grabbed and he was pulled to the centre, through a throng of darkly clothed people who had guns pointing outward of the circle they had created, watching out in the dark. He couldn't see what they were looking at but he had a good idea as he remembered the look of the gruesome face he had seen. It had looked like death reheated in a microwave. As he approached the centre, he noticed thin black ropes dangling from the ceiling and leading upward to a helicopter that flew noisily above. He continued to look upwards and only broke his attention when an arm encircled his waist and pulled him close and a belt was placed around his waist to accompany that arm. It was only as he was hooked onto the same rope as the Major that had rescued him and thrown him under a table that he remembered.

"Minerva!" He cried out.

The man stopped and looked at him. Draco couldn't see his face but he imagined it had a look that said: " _What_?" So he elaborated. "Minerva! My cat. Please! I need to get her!"

The Major paused. "Your cat." Draco imagined that if that helmet wasn't on, he'd be stared at as if he were crazy.

But he didn't care. "Yes!"

The man stared at him for a while longer and then said, "Let's go!" The rope pulled taut.

"NO! Please I can't leave her,  _please_." He began to struggle.

"You want to go back through that?" the Major said pointing out the throng of vicious faces that stared them in anger and hunger when they weren't being shot down. He idly registered members of the darkly-dressed squad throwing small balls similar to the ones he had been tossed around the library. "For a  _cat_?" The Major said the word cat as if it were dirty.

" _My_  cat." He looked down to unbuckle the belt. He stopped however, when a hand was placed over his.

There was a  _very_  heavy sigh. "What's her name?" he heard. The voice asked as a reminder more than really wanting to know.

Draco felt the relief fall over him. "Minerva."

The man sighed again. " _Accio_  Minerva the cat." He held up his hand, his head turning away in the process. Draco imagined a cringe on his face and seconds later he realised why.

There was a short sharp yowl before a struggling and biting feline appeared before Draco. It was quickly stilled by a  _Petrificus_  and given to him just as the ropes were pulled upward. Draco clung on tight, feeling the press of the man's arm around him and feeling a little comfort in it as he was pulled closer to his chest. He was minutely aware of the change of scent from the library to the outdoors and then shut his eyes. "Are you afraid of heights?" he heard.

Draco shook his head rigidly. "No, I'm just afraid of dangling from a hair thin rope this high. That's all," he answered squeezing his eyes shut.

They had flown far enough away for the go ahead to be given. When the man beside him gave the affirmation, he opened his eyes, not able to take it away from the building that had been his home. He took in a fearful breath when he saw the amount of creatures much like the one that had come after him in the library crawling over it. It was a sea of writhing bodies as they climbed. Seconds later a blinding light surrounded the building. When it died down the building was clear with not a blemish. Draco stared at it in shock, not because it had been repaired but because it had been done in such a mass action spell. He had never seen anything like it before. Not for the first time, he wondered who these people were.

They flew for ages, all the operatives hanging – now closer – from the helicopter. They'd been reeled upward to stop the lines tangling but there were too many of them to fit inside. It being a muggle issued helicopter, they weren't allow to ' _taint_ ' it with magic. The Lieutenant looked around her. All operatives were accounted for. Thomas was holding onto one of the older men, Longbottom the other while herself and Finnigan held two random students who'd managed to elude the things chasing them down the hallway to the library. Major Potter had the young blond who was looking about with crooked glasses and clutching a petrified cat. She'd heard the brief comical conversation and, knowing how much Harry disliked cats, was surprised he'd postponed departure to  _Accio_  it. The blond's eyes swept over her as it did the other operatives but, wearing a helmet, she knew he couldn't see her study of him. The way he didn't shiver at this altitude, like the amused, long-haired wizard attached to Neville, gave something away. She cocked an eyebrow and grinned at her team leader.

Draco looked across to Remus, who was looking around him in confusion but going along with it. Sirius, aside from everything else, seemed to be enjoying his ride. It made Draco smile. He knew how much Sirius loved to fly. It pleased him somehow that, even in these life or death situations, Sirius could still find something to enjoy. He wondered why the man was shivering though, Draco felt quite warm. Remus wasn't shivering but that could have been because of the werewolf in him. The moon was half full, it wasn't long before his change. Draco worried about it. There wasn't anywhere to keep him while it happened now. As Remus looked up at the moon and then at him, he knew Remus was thinking it too.

They were flying over the country-side when Draco spotted the large blue and red bus, the colours fairly visible in the moonlight. It had red and yellow headlights and was travelling in the same direction.

"Down!" Draco jumped at the command said suddenly near his ear and felt the arm tighten around him as he did so. "Ground five, do you read?" The static fizzed before the line went clear.

" _That we do, Major! Hatch opening._ "

There was indeed a hatch opening in the roof of the bus. The ropes were lengthening and Draco felt himself going down. He clung tighter to the leather in front of him and looked down to see the helicopter align itself with the hatch and stay there. As he looked around he could see all the others were lowering too. Several had already unloaded by the time he and his black-clothed operative had hit the ground in the corridor of the bus. The hatch above them closed. "Excellent flying, Wood, I'll have to give a recommendation for you to our superiors."

There was laughter after the static disappeared. " _Oh, do go screw yourself, Harry. I'll see you all back at base._ "

"Copy that," Draco heard the man he now knew was called 'Harry' say jokingly before he switched off his radio. "Everyone is accounted for?" There were nods all round. He nodded in return and reached up to take off his helmet. As he did, a flushed face was revealed that calmed down shortly after to a light tan. Dark tendrils of hair framed his face but the focus was those green eyes that Draco could see from even a few paces away. "Right, to Quarantine we go."

  
  


Draco, Remus, Sirius and the two others had sat down listening to the story for a half hour now. The young blond man speaking seemed in his element as he hadn't stopped once. The disease that the papers had named going around had spread from a single source and was now running rampant throughout England. Muggles had been affected exponentially but the wizards had not. Until now. Wizarding London had locked themselves away placing countless charms over their homes and places of employ to stop anything unwanted coming in. They did this because they knew what would happen if they contracted a disease from the muggle world. A year ago, the Wizarding world had suffered from a similar occurrence. All evidence had been wiped out now but the fact remained, wizards did not do well with muggle diseases. The segregation this time around had worked for a while but a month ago a young muggleborn witch had contracted it. Since then, the disease had changed and the nightmare of one year past had started all over again. The magic in wizards didn't die so easily and those who caught the disease were killed but the magic in them kept them alive.

Or something close.

Like magic, there was no stopping it. Once bitten, in the maximum of an hour, people died and returned much less human than before. Because the wizard-wireless was not available in muggle towns, it had been up to Special Operatives to get those who had locked themselves away out of London and the neighbouring areas. "Only thing is, in your case, they seemed to be targeting your area. The attacks had all seemed pretty random until the last few days."

"Pardon me." It was Remus who spoke. He had been sitting down for a very long time watching various tests being done on Sirius and Draco. Once it had been established that the foreign blood in him was, in fact, that of a werewolf, he had been left alone because, in actuality, the 'disease' that had been running rampant was not contractible in magical creatures or animals. He had also been reassured that Severus had wolfsbane on hand to administer to any patient in need. "But why would we be targeted, can they – what the hell  _were_  they anyway?"

Here, a young woman with brown bushy hair and the same young blond man stepped forward. They had been introduced earlier as Hermione Granger and Collin Creevey. They were both analysts: Hermione of data and Collin of both that and photography. Hermione was also the librarian. Draco and Remus had perked up at that piece of information. Sirius had just rolled his eyes. "They are the product of a set of changes in their DNA that-"

"They were Zombies, weren't they?" Draco said quietly. Hermione paused in her explanation. "I'm more appreciative of summaries. Just fresh out of Uni, forgive the mindset." He shrugged. Both Hermione and Collin looked quite put out. Luna looked over at Harry and smiled at him cheekily while raising her eyebrows. He flushed and rolled his eyes at her while the rest of the operatives watched Draco in amusement.

The Quarantine Manager and resident Doctor, Severus Snape, smirked. "So that's how you shut her up. I always wondered." He looked around at the group. "You are all in the clear, get out of my sick bay."

Remus frowned. "Zombies? Like Inferi?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, much worse. If they bite you or transfer any of their DNA to you in any way, you will be infected."

"Have any of you seen the change?" Draco asked quietly. He imagined it wasn't a pleasant sight.

There was a silence filled with tension and awkwardness. Draco looked around at them all. The medium sized Irishman, Sergeant Seamus Finnegan, was looking down, though his eyes flashed across the way a few times. In fact all of them did, even the Lieutenant, Dean Thomas, but he was looking more toward the blonde woman standing next to Major Harry Potter, the operative who had saved him from being bitten and flown with him attached to his side all the way from London. The blonde woman, Lieutenant Luna something – no one had called her anything besides Luna so he didn't know her name, stood watching them back with a small smile. It was as if she was sure why they were all looking at her, but uncaring of the fact. She was leaning against a wall with her wavy hair pulled back in a ponytail and her arms crossed at her chest. She looked a little spaced out, actually. As if she was replaying something in her mind. The dark-haired man next to her was glaring at them.

"No." His jaw clenched. Beside him, Luna continued to stare into space, lost in her own world. "Any person who has contracted the disease is killed on the spot after being retested or after the hour has passed." The words  _end of discussion_  were plain in there and Draco let it go. "Everyone get to bed. We have a long day tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?" Sirius asked and Draco was glad. He wanted to know but hadn't wanted to ask another question after that.

Potter stopped and looked back at them all. "We meet the General." He left then and, after one last look and a pleasant smile, Luna followed behind him.

  


"Quarantine was the name given to the sick bay mainly because no one ever really gets sick here. Most are just quarantined for an hour to make sure the change hasn't overtaken them," Corporal Blaise Zabini explained as he walked Draco, Remus and Sirius to their rooms. Neville had taken the other two shortly after Harry had left with Luna. Draco had stayed to make sure the doctor would treat Minerva properly. The surly look he'd been given had given him reason enough to leave minutes later. After exiting Quarantine, they turned left down the corridor of doors and took the next door on the right hand side. It was labelled 'Dorms'. The next door said 'Training Rooms' and 'Library'. He could hear pounding music coming from inside. He looked to Blaise in wonder but all he got was a shake of the head. "It's not coming from the library and, believe me, you can't hear anything in the library either. Hermione made sure of it."

"You play such loud music when you train?"

Again Blaise shook his head as he led them all through the door labelled 'Dorms'. "No, just Harry and Luna. They usually train together but they've taught us all we know and then some." He looked around the large, richly furnished room. "Behind each door is a bedroom and adjoining bathroom. This is our communal room. There are three spare rooms left. We have some muggle rescues from before but they rarely come out. They're kind of strange really but we don't pressure them. We live with this kind of thing after all, we train for it. They are shocked into this world.

"I'm guessing you two want to share, if the condition I found you in is anything to go by," he added waggling his eyebrows at the two older men. Draco snorted but noted that the man before him must have been the suited figure that had disappeared behind the counter of Athena Library.

"You guess correctly," Sirius declared proudly, which made Draco grin, even as Remus blushed.

Blaise laughed. "Here, you can have this room. It's soundproofed, like all the others. Gotta have  _some_  privacy after all." He winked. Both men disappeared into the room after bidding Draco goodnight.

As the dark-skinned man turned to him, Draco asked, "Do you mind if I get more of a tour before I'm sent to bed? If you can't take me, I can wonder around myself. Just tell me all the No Entry doors and I'll go my way." Blaise looked at him for a second.

"Nah, I can take you. I never sleep anyway when we have to meet the General the next day. Harry's a prick, he knows we never rest easy."

Blaise led him to the kitchen first. Inside, a mature red-haired woman stood mixing something that smelled delicious. "Molly, lovely, what are you doing up at this time of night?"

The woman looked up, pausing in her mixing, and smiled at him. "Cookie?" she said in response. Blaise let loose a wide smile that lit up his eyes.

Taking a bite of it, he shut his eyes in splendour. "Molly, marry me."

Molly giggled like a school girl. "Afraid I'm spoken for, my love. Next time, eh?"

Blaise nodded then jumped to introductions. "This is Draco Malfoy, our newest rescue. He's here with four others. A Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and two university students. You'll probably meet them at breakfast tomorrow."

"Oh," she said wiping her hands on her apron. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you." They sat talking for a while longer until Molly glanced at the clock. "Heavens! Is that the time? You boys should be in bed! Off with you, out of my kitchen before I  _Stupify_  you myself!" She pushed them back out and they arrived once more in the corridor. Blaise stood with his handful of cookies and grinned.

"On with the tour?" When Draco nodded, Blaise bypassed two rooms: the Conference Room and the Dining Room. "It's basic, really, just chairs and tables. I'm guessing you really only wanted to see the library. I was planning on leaving you there, actually." His confession only brought forth a smile from his blond companion as he had planned on ending his excursion there too.

"Who is the General?" Draco asked as they walked into the short corridor behind the door.

"General Moody is our superior," Blaise said bypassing the Training Room. The room, Draco noticed, was now silent. "He answers to Dumbledore, our Field Marshall. The titles were established by the military and we had to train for them but, in the Wizarding world, Dumbledore is a professor and Moody a head Auror in the DMLE. Dumbledore is the Headmaster, actually, of a school. Hogwarts. You heard of it?" he asked.

The door opened and beyond it, Draco only saw books. Endless rows upon rows, categorised and alphabetised. He was in heaven. "Wow. Oh, yeah, I heard of it. I was supposed to go there, actually, but my mother preferred I go to France. She's never been a fan of Britain." He looked up and around, left and right. He was going to like it here.

Blaise grinned noticing that he may as well vacate now. "I see." He bowed. "Well, I bid you goodnight. I need at least some sleep before facing Moody in the morning."

Draco turned to him. "Is there a reason why the man is called that?"

Blaise laughed. "Yes, and it's all in his name. He's only ever pleasant to Harry," he said looking perplexed. Shaking it off, he grinned. "Goodnight."

Draco smiled back. "Yeah, goodnight." He walked off into the aisles.

Blaise watched him for a second before turning to leave. As he turned, he jumped at Harry's sudden appearance beside him.

"I told you to go to bed."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "You tell me lots of things. Besides, the man wanted a tour." Harry cocked an eyebrow at him. "He's a librarian and just got attacked by zombies in a library. He's looking for a comfort zone. At least give the man a comfort zone." When Harry didn't answer, he grinned. "Besides, he's good company and..." He leaned in as if to say something secretive, "Well, I may not be gay," he said turning back to the aisle Draco had disappeared down, "but I know when to appreciate a nice looking arse. Just ask Seamus." He winked at Harry and left him there gobsmacked.

Harry stared at his Corporal as he made his way out of the library and only took his eyes away when the door shut. He shook his head and looked up at the clock that hung on the second floor of the library where a balcony stood, the inlaid shelves to its sides filled with even more books. It was well after hours and they had a busy day tomorrow.

There was a sudden sound of static over a radio. _"Is everyone tucked in for the night? There's a bit of a canyon ahead and we don't have time to go around."_ It was George, one of the two drivers and pilots for the bus. George and the other, his twin brother, Fred, were experts in anything mechanical. Anything he could name, they could steer, drive or fly. They could also repair anything in need of more than a  _Reparo_. All those things were the reason Harry never left base without them.

Speaking of flying, he would have to warn the blond man who'd walked into the stacks. If the bus ever took off, everything moveable would suddenly be a-fixed in their positions – a development Fred, George and Hermione had come up with – but, as on one unfortunate incident in the kitchen with their previous cook, Martha, being fixed in position, without appropriate warning, to a floor covered in _really_ hot tomato sauce... it wasn't good.

He found the man sitting on the floor next to the literature section. He was reading through the index that Hermione had glued to the outside of the shelf.

"We're about to take off, you need to get a space to sit down in." Harry ignored the man's startled jump and took a hold of his arm to get him up.

"Hey, whoa!" Draco said in surprise as the library jerked to one side.

 _"Here we go! Hold on!"_  came the chorus of two voices over the speaker in the library.

Harry could feel the spell making its way around even as he was flung to one side, landing against Draco. The spell became secure seconds later and, honestly, Harry felt a little awkward pressed up against this man and trapping him, in a way, against the bookshelf. He hoped Fred and George remembered to end the spell. The last time they had forgotten, Harry had been trapped in the shower for three hours.

"So," he heard said just under his ear. Harry swallowed because the sensation of hot air against that part of his neck... he didn't want to go there. " _That_  is what they mean when they say that they can't go around?"

Harry grit his teeth. "Yeah."

Draco wished he could raise his head. The voice on this man sounded flinty, as if he didn't want to be spoken to. Draco then remembered he had unwittingly brought up a sore subject earlier in the Quarantine room. "Um, I'm sorry about – about earlier, I didn't mean to offend anyone." Harry frowned in confusion, not sure what he was talking about. The silence, however, was taken as a bad sign and Draco filled the space with more words. "I didn't know that the topic was off discussion. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories or whatever. I'm just... sorry." Draco continued to trail off knowing that he was rambling but he couldn't help it. This Major Harry was making things incredibly difficult.

At the mention of bad memories, Harry knew exactly what Draco was talking about. It was exactly what had forced him into the training room with Luna. "That – it wasn't-" How was he supposed to approach this kind of thing? He wished Luna was there. Then again if she were, she'd probably laugh at him. He sighed. "Look, don't worry about it. I reacted badly. I tend to do that. Often. Just ignore it. Everyone else does." He wanted to keep the talking brief, being forced this close to a person he'd inexplicably summoned cats, cast warming charms and clung to for the better part of an hour was not on his list of things to endure.

"I'm not everyone else."

 _Tell me about it._  Who did he know that would willingly rush back into a sea of zombies for a cat? Who did he know that would actually sit down and read Hermione's shelf indexes? Who did he know that had captured and kept his attention for so long without even trying? His own inner monologue and the awkwardness of the situation made Harry smile despite himself. _Not many._  "I'm seeing that." There was silence again after his admission. He looked upwards with just his eyes. _How much wider could this canyon be?_

The silence stretched as Draco realised this man wasn't much of a talker. The silence was tense, though not exactly uncomfortable – he felt a little at ease around him – but he could tell Major Potter didn't want to be there. "Your team is interesting."

"Um... thank you?" Draco smiled.

"I mean, they're very different – in a good way so don't worry."

It was true. Neville's penchant for all things botanical complimented and most times helped Snape, Hermione and Collin in their work, Hermione's ongoing quest for knowledge and Collin's canny ability to decipher any code and photograph made them fast friends. Seamus' boisterous attitude and fiery energy complimented and contrasted against Dean Thomas' calm collected attitude. Blaise Zabini seemed to be a mixture of the two and quite fun to be around. Luna, with her weird words of wisdom and spaced out attitude led you in to believe she didn't belong there but her quick wit and unwillingness to fail made her equals in many ways to himself. She had an inner strength that had been put to the test many times in recent years, just like him.

Harry shut his eyes, unable to turn away but also glad Draco couldn't see him. He didn't want to think about it, he never wanted to think about it but so far, all conversations with this man made him drift back to the subject more often than not.

"So," he began, "you're a Frenchman?" He actually felt the movement of Draco's eyebrows against him. "I overheard you with Zabini earlier."

Draco, surprised the Major had instigated conversation, replied in kind, "So eavesdropping isn't above Majors, I see?" Draco laughed feeling it was safe now that Major Harry had tried using an icebreaker. "Not really. I speak the language, I know the history but my heart is here. It always has been."

Harry narrowed his eyes in curiosity. "With your... Uncles?" he asked routing around for an answer.

Draco smiled, impressed by his technique. "Cousin, actually. Sirius, my second cousin."

If Harry could nod, he would. "Purebloods I take it. From the Black family."

Draco rolled his eyes. "The stars gave us away?"

"They always do, right?" The puffs of air accompanying Draco's laughter made him shiver. He was glad, however, he wasn't able to in his current position. It was curious, he didn't feel this way normally. His eyes shifted down to see short blond hair, barely grazing the pale neck, tied back and a light blue dressing gown. Harry took it all in because the way he was reacting was strange. Strange and rare. He wanted to know  _why_. What was it that was making him feel this way? Harry had always been a simple person with simple feelings and reactions. It was very rare that something would confuse him.

The spell was dissipating. He could feel it, just like he could feel the stirring in his gut. He shut his eyes in mortification. He was too close,  _way_  too close. He struggled against the spell to move away as quickly as possible, managing to do so just before Draco was able to move. Thankfully the other man hadn't noticed. The book he'd had in his hand reading before he'd heard Blaise and Draco conversing now rested casually over his lap.

"I have a long day tomorrow so I'm going to bed. Unfortunately I can't do that until all are accounted for in their rooms." He gave a nodding gesture to the door.

Draco rolled his eyes and made his way out. He promised himself he would come back the first chance he got. As he passed the Major, he couldn't help the little conspiratory smile he got on his face. He bit his lip to quell it. He had felt  _everything_  and was  _very_  impressed. He schooled his features to turn and wave before exiting the library and making his way to the dorms.

Harry watched him leave making sure his discomfort didn't show on his face. He was very upset with himself for losing control like that. As the door shut, he closed his eyes in both relief and grief. He would have to work very hard to hide this. Harry looked down contemplating and removed the book.  _Very hard_. "Damn it." Damn Blaise.

He hated it when he was right.

 

  


"Harry, my boy." The entire troop walked into the square, relieved to be back home.  _The Facility_  had been set up by an organisation not so disconnected from the DMLE but enough to be able to make their own decisions without asking for permission. They reported to themselves, they handled their own screw ups. Thankfully there had been none so far.

Harry turned forward when he heard Moody call his name, lowering his hand after greeting Oliver Wood with a informal salute. Wood was walking toward the dorms with a basket of folded laundry; he gave him an acknowledgement with a single raise of his basket and kept going. Harry walked with his bag slung over his shoulder looking around with an air of calmness until he'd walked up to the General. Moody eyed the rest of the group and then the group of survivors they'd brought in. His eyebrow raised at the young blond in the front who was watching them in interest. Moody, with his age, knew no young blond man would be watching  _him_ that way. "Harry...  _my boy_ ," Moody said again with a lecherous grin ignoring Harry's formal salute to his superior.

Harry narrowed his eyes at him in contempt and looked away ignoring him. "Oh, do  _fuck off_ , Moody," he said quietly but with all the passion he could muster.

The grin however wouldn't go away. "The mere fact that you know what I'm talking about tells me  _all_  I need to know." He took one last look. "Good on you, though." He winked his good eye and continued on. Harry shook his head and walked off.

"Harry," he heard and stopped. He would always stop for that voice. He turned to see Luna watching him curiously. She cocked her head to the side and walked in another direction. Sighing, he followed ignoring the suddenly dark demeanour of the General as he addressed other officers.

The training room at The Facility was the original to those on the buses. The only difference was that The Facility training room was a little more worn. The history could be seen in the scorch marks, the divots on the floor and the ceiling and the puncture marks in the walls. Weapons lined the room from wall to wall. The room was painted white if only to see all the flaws. The flaws, however, were what made it the training room. You couldn't mistake it for anything else.

As the loud pounding music started, Harry shut his eyes and smiled.  _Feels like home._  "Feels good to be back." Harry dropped his bag on the floor. He turned then because he could hear – just as he had been trained, behind the pumping base a 'wisp' sound. He ducked in time to see a dagger sail past him and stick itself in the wall next to another puncture of the same size. "You missed."

Luna grinned. "Wasn't aiming for you," she said her accent lilting gently as she spoke. "You had a Nargle by your ear. It's been confusing you all day." She made hand movements by her own head to symbolise his confusion. "It fights harder to confuse you when blondie walks by." She threw another and another. Harry moved to pull them out the wall. She grinned. " _Especially_  when you've got your eye on his arse."

"Shit!" Harry said as he cut himself on a blade. He turned around to glare at her, intensifying it when he saw her grinning from ear to ear as she twisted her hair around into a bun and stuck her wand in it. Luna walked over to a wall where a set of weapons stood and pulled down a staff. She threw it to him before taking down one of her own. It was blue, she'd decorated it herself. Crouching down and moving from foot to foot, she waited. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She straightened from her defence pose. "Of course you don't. But now I've gotten rid of your Nargle there," she said pointing to his left shoulder, "you can think straight. Preferably, not like a girl." She grinned and attacked.

"I'm not thinking like a girl," he said defending and counterattacking. He swung right above her but when she ducked he swung back left for her feet.

Laughing, Luna jumped over the end of his staff, spun around and used the end of her own to jab at him. When he jumped back to avoid, she paused in that position. "Harry, how long has it been since you've gotten laid? I know  _Snarfungels_  who mate more than you. And they're ugly,  _really_  ugly."

Harry, narrowing his eyes, knocked her staff end away. It made her spin back the way she came and they went at it again on attack, defence and counter-attack – sometimes, to the beat of the music. He'd always been fascinated by the way she fought, as if she were dancing and each defensive and offensive movement was just a new move to the music. Ron was always frustrated when he fought against her because he could never understand her, predict her movements. It was just like her dancing, really. Luna landed a blow to his stomach and when he stepped forward one more time, she swung at his head. Ducking, he jabbed to her midsection and landed a hit.

Luna looked down at her stomach and rubbed it. Harry stood frozen in his position much like she had before. "You hit a girl!"

Harry grinned. That had worked the first time. Never again. " _You_  are no girl."

Luna smiled at him and set off on offense again. As Harry backed away, she spun low to direct a hit to his feet and used her momentum to straighten. Planting her staff down, she used it to land a swift kick to his chest as he was distracted by jumping over it. Falling backward, Luna followed him. She placed one foot on his chest accompanied by the staff and the other on the floor and panted. She watched him with curiosity.

"What... what are you hiding from, Harry?" she said breathless. "I have an excuse, what's yours?" Those large blue eyes stared at him.

He looked up at the ceiling, idly wondering – not for the first time – why it hadn't fallen down.

"Ever since... well," she trailed off and swallowed hard as she caught her breath. "You weren't like this before. Is it because of-"

"No," he cut her off sharply. He looked at her then. "Maybe," he said softer by ways of apology.

She nodded in understanding. She stepped off him and threw the staff up. Taking her wand out of her hair, she cast a spell for it to return to its place while still in mid-air. Her hair unravelled as she did so but she was uncaring for it. "There's a meeting at two. You should go claim a room before all the rescues take one and get ready. Dumbledore is coming." She smiled as her staff landed in its spot perfectly. Sighing, she turned back to him. "He always has nice things to say. I like that."

Harry just smiled and got up sending his staff flying back to the wall with a flick of his wrist. Using wandless magic was supposed to be a secret he had. It was another reason Luna was so curious because he'd used it to summon Draco's cat in the middle of a mission.

"Who knows if there aren't enough, you could share a room with  _Draco_. She ducked as a dagger was thrown back at her and laughed.

  


"We have a problem."

Harry rolled his eyes. "We always have problems, just tell us what it is." They were sitting in a large room to the side of the library. A large table sat in the middle surrounded by chairs and computer stations. At the front of the room a large screen stood. The troop, Draco, Remus and Sirius sat around waiting for feedback. Remus wasn't sure why they were sent to attend this meeting because, really, this had nothing to do with them.

Dumbledore stood solemnly at the front before the screen. "We have received some intel from one of our sources. It shows that the signal has changed."

"Signal?" Remus said.

Hermione sat down. "Well," she began feeling very at home with explaining things. This was her central intelligence centre. Harry looked over at Luna to catch her rolling her eyes. He narrowed his eyes at her and gestured them to the front to tell her to pay attention. She sighed quietly and settled in for the lecture. "Two weeks ago we started to see some strange patterns circulating. It was like a beacon that went out through the airwaves going off and on until six days ago when it came on and hasn't turned off since. Collin and Neville did an analysis after Collin listened to a really popular song on the radio. He went online to find the song and download it but what he got was some jarbled mess. Neville was doing some blood smears from the zombies that we had collected and, while the scratchy stuff played, the blood cells went beserk. We had to turn it off before the blood moved off the glass slide."

"So, what is it, subliminal messaging?"

"Kind of. Except it's targeted only to people who are in a zombified state. We went all over the Net trying to find it and it is  _everywhere_ : radios, coming out of computers,  _televisions_  - anything electrical can carry the signal but the worse of it is that the radio waves carry it too and it's been broadcast from radio towers all over the country. Collin deciphered the pattern that it created and hacked into the source of it. It was encrypted but it's really high level encryption. It took us about three hours to get through. By then we sent the troops to look for you." She pointed at Remus.

"Me? What would my name be doing on it?" He paused when she shook her head.

It was Collin however, that answered. "Not on it,  _in_  it. It had your name and address plastered all over it like a chant for the past three days. Before that it was just random places like Shopping Centers, Parks and Stadiums. At least that's how it would sound if the message had been streamlined into your head."

"But, why?"

Hermione shook her head. "We don't know, all we know is the signal's source is coming from London's City Hall. It's then being routed to different radio towers by a company called Bio-Molecular Industries."

Draco's head snapped up and a gasp left his mouth. He suddenly had the attention of everyone in the room. He flushed. A pair of blue eyes centred on him. They belonged to Albus Dumbledore. Draco got the impression he was a wise man with even wiser angles. "You know of that name?"

"Um." Draco looked around. "I – yeah. Could I access email here?" he asked Hermione and Collin.

Hermione nodded and showed him to a computer. Draco followed her across the room, very aware now that he was still in his dressing gown because he had nothing else to wear. He sat down at the desk knowing that everyone's eyes would be on him. Typing in the address and the password, he opened up the email Remus had gotten from Dr. Vector. "I opened this email last night, it came from a Doctor Vector at Bio Molecular Industries. It had all these attachments and descriptions of something called um – oh how do you pronounce it... Remus?"

Remus came over to see the word, putting on his own glasses and peering at the screen while Collin moved over to another computer and started typing furiously. " _Υπάκουοι_."

The room was silent

"Wait," Harry said. "Eepa-kooey?"

Remus shrugged. "Close enough. It's Greek, loosely it means obedience or one who obeys."

"It's all in the email in the attachments. I didn't get to read them but they're there. I don't know why they sent it to Remus though."

Hermione, who had been watching over Collin's shoulder gasped, gaining everyone's attention. "She didn't. Look, it's like the final piece of a puzzle."

Dean looked closely. "Is that her email account?"

Collin shook his head. "No, it's the company's email."

"How did you-" Dean began but looking at Collin's grin he shook his head. "Forget it, I won't understand anyway."

Hermione focussed on the task at hand. "Forget that. Look at the contact list." They all looked at the large screen as Collin transferred the email over. He brought up the contacts list.

"Well, shit," Draco said.

Sirius nudged Remus. "I told you we should have left it to postage."

The name Dr. Vector had saved Remus' address under was ACLibrarian. Incidentally that placed his address at the top of the list. Dr. Vector hadn't sent  _Remus_  the message. She had just sent it to the first address on the list to get the information out of the company. She had known it would be erased along with all the inhabitants of the building. She had done the one thing she could think of. She publicised the data in the safest way possible.

"We need to find out what all this means. Give us a day, yeah?" Collin said. Dumbledore nodded sagely.

"Yes, find out as much as you can. When you have enough information for us to proceed let me know."

"You'll be the first we come to," Collin affirmed.

  


After a hot shower and a fresh change of clothes, Draco was energised and ready to pursue the aisles of the library properly. The day had been long and he knew that in order to relax he just needed to curl up in a big chair with a book and a hot cup of chocolate. He went to the kitchen first, Minerva following him. Molly was just as welcoming as ever here with another red-haired woman she said was her sister, Greta. They looked too much alike to not be related and he greeted her with as much warmth as she did to him. Molly was more than helpful to give him something to eat and drink, even if he hadn't asked for food. Apparently, he and Minerva were far too thin.

Drink plus plate full of tuna and ham sandwiches in hand, Draco made his way to the library in silence. He didn't like people to eat and drink in his library and he was hoping not to incur the wrath of Hermione. He had seen that there was a whole section of literature on the bus, but that library perished in comparison to this place. This - this was... it shouldn't be legal the amount of books in there.

Draco took a good look around and saw no one. The whole day had been spent in his room. He'd heard that if more people came the Facility would be hard pressed for room to fit them. He may have to share but he didn't mind rooming with his cousin. Unless they wanted the privacy. He grinned to himself.

Placing his cup and plate down on a table in the back, he took out two sandwiches for Minerva and placed them to one side. She tucked in immediately and he went in search of the library map at the front. Athena Library had something like it for newbies and visitors, with coloured spots linked to each category. Here, blue was literature and Draco felt his insides sing.

As he disappeared behind a shelf, Harry walked in the library with a book in hand and made his way right to the back where he always sat in case someone came in. He didn't like to be disturbed. He turned around the last bookshelf and paused at an odd sight. Draco's cat was eating a sandwich on the table from a plate with a hot cup of steaming something. He frowned. That didn't make sense. That meant _he_ was here. Harry chewed his lip in indecision for a few seconds before putting down his book next to Minerva and going in search for him.

Draco had a dilemma. Fred, George and two other men were asleep in the corner of the literature section and there was a book he wanted in the top corner where they were stretched out. He assumed they were all drivers. They had the look of ' _vehicle_ ' about them that was unmistakeable. Plus they would have been the only ones awake all night that would need the sleep. This was part of Draco's dilemma. He knew they needed the sleep and therefore didn't want to wake them for something as trivial as wanting a book.  _And... yes_ , he thought to himself as he checked his pockets. He'd left his wand in his room.

"Shit." The word caught the attention of the man walking the aisles purposefully looking for a certain blond. Draco looked up and down then did a full three-sixty before his eyes spotted the gem he was looking for.

The Library Ladder.

Harry watched Draco as he walked off looking determined in one direction before he came back tugging the ladder that ran around the library on rails. The blond parked it and put the brakes on as close to Fred's chair as he could. He rolled his eyes. He'd told the drivers to find another place to sleep, preferably their own rooms. He'd have a word with them soon. Attention focussing on Draco now, he watched as the blond stretched for the book just out of his reach. Draco sighed letting his arms drop as if he'd given up but looked at the rail as it disappeared around the corner. Harry knew he was considering wheeling the thing all the way around and shook his head as he came out from behind his bookshelf. He walked up to the ladder and climbed up behind an oblivious Draco who jumped in surprise.

Draco looked around and breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't do that," he whispered harshly.

Harry just chuckled. He thought it was funny. Draco steadied himself on the ladder and planted his feet. "Which is it?" Harry asked him. He looked across at the titles but realised he couldn't read them. He looked up at the section. It said French literature. "Wow," he said. No wonder the drivers were asleep here. "Does the book have a colour? I won't understand you even if you tell me the name."

Draco laughed quietly. He hadn't planned on telling him the name anyway. He leaned over to go as far as he could and pointed. "The blue one," he said reaching back to the rung.

Harry felt the curve of Draco's arse return to its place on the ladder and fought the shudder down. He leaned over easily and pointed at the spine in front of his hand. "This one?" he whispered. When Draco nodded he plucked it out and stretched back. "There."

"Thanks," Draco said quietly. When they'd remained on the ladder for a while longer, Draco finally said. "I - um, I need to get down."

If Harry could whack himself in the head, he would have done it then and there. He jumped down landing on the balls of his feet silently, while Draco took the rungs one at a time. With one last look to the drivers, Draco walked back to his secluded area.

As he turned the last corner and found his table, Draco furrowed his eyebrows and turned around, seeing Harry still there. "Why are you following me?" he asked leaning against the table where Minerva had left him one sandwich, if that. He'd have to have a talk with her later about sharing. At least his hot chocolate was still there.

Harry moved forward, but when Draco didn't move aside, he leaned in close making the blond lean back a little. Harry smirked at him, seeing the dilation of his pupils and then moved away abruptly. He held up his book. "This is usually my table. When I saw your concoction here I left it to find you."

Draco glanced behind him. Minerva, who had glanced at them when they'd turned the corner, had gone back to sleep, not particularly bothered with their antics. He smiled at her. "You would ask an animal that comfortable to move? Shame on you." He put on a mock-disappointed face.

Harry took his book and put it on the table again. "Who said I wanted you to move?" He took a seat at the table. As he sat, he pushed out a chair on the other side. It flew back hitting the shelf there, which stopped it. Draco looked at it and then moved slowly toward it. "I can share." He moved his seat back and tilted it against the bookshelf behind him. Putting his feet up on the table, he got comfortable and sank into his book. Draco opened to the first page and began to read keeping his hot chocolate on hand. It was cooler now so he could drink it without burning himself.

It was only because he couldn't help it that his eyes kept rising momentarily to watch the officer across from him. Since their encounter on the bus, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about it or him. He hadn't been able to move but he had been able to feel. The jerk of the bus as it took off had crashed them into each other and the spell had kept them there unable to move. The heat he could feel coming off the man, it felt like it was still there. Either that or Draco was getting warmer.

He looked up again and found Harry watching him. Harry closed his book on his finger to mark his place. "Yes?"

Draco looked back down to his own book, the French phrases seeming jumbled in his head. "I was looking at your feet."  _I was what?_  he thought. He mentally smacked himself.

Harry looked up at his feet propped on the table. "Any new revelations I should know about?" Harry asked re-opening to his saved page. He was kind of confused but mostly intrigued.

"They're big," Draco said, his eyes not leaving the page.

Harry cocked an eyebrow. There was a smile in there somewhere; he could hear it in Draco's voice. He kept his head down. "Oh?"

Draco put his book down in his lap. "Well, you know what they say about men with big feet," he said as if there were an obvious answer that  _everybody_  knew.

Harry narrowed his eyes, speechless. "I must have missed that class," he said looking at Draco like he was genuinely curious.

"Oh, well - you know." Draco turned back to his book. He was blushing. "Big feet, large..." he grinned, "shoes." He enunciated the word as if it were something dirty, his eyes still scanning the words in his book. He turned the page.

Harry stared at him for a second before bursting out into laughter, real genuine laughter that he hadn't let out of himself for a long time.

  


A day later, as Harry bypassed the main entry foyer, his eyes glimpsed over the missions of the week. He continued walking before he stopped, staring straight ahead, not sure if his eyes had deceived him. He then came back to the board that said 'Current'. Eyes narrowed on the name he found there, he went in search of his team.

"Where is she?" It wasn't a question, it was a demand.

He was talking to Thomas but it was Seamus who paled, Dean was too good to be caught out by a simple demand like that. By the time Dean shrugged, Harry had zoned in on the Irishman next to him. "Where did she go?"

Seamus looked around for someone to help him. "Um, she told me not to tell you."

Harry cocked an eyebrow and Seamus backed away a tad. "I am your senior officer, Seamus. Where did she go?"

Dean cocked an eyebrow at the reminder. "Major, I'm sorry but she's way scarier than you," Seamus said. Harry narrowed his eyes at him but behind the Sergeant he could see Zabini, who had stopped to watch the spectacle they were making. When Zabini saw his eyes lock on him, though, he started to move away.

"Zabini!" Harry yelled running him down. He caught him and trapped him against a wall, his hand going for his throat. "Where did she go!"

"Uh -" he choked, "God-Godr -" Harry saw red.

"No!" He stormed off leaving Blaise to massage his throat and Seamus to help him to the infirmary.

When Harry burst through the office doors, he wasn't surprised to see Moody and Dumbledore conversing. "Send me out. Send me out  _right now_."

Moody stepped forward. Harry's anger was directed at Dumbledore, he knew this, but Harry had to calm himself. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Potter, the groups have already left. She has made her choice. I believe you should allow her to follow through." Harry seemed to disregard Moody's words, his head shook in refusal.

"Harry, my boy, Godric's Hollow holds a lot of bad memories for the two of you, I know. But if either of you are going to put it behind you-" Dumbledore stopped, now noticing the water filling behind Harry's eyes. It had been a long time since he had seen Harry cry. A year ago when the first outbreak had happened, the three young operatives had Apparated in from their mission, a clear indicator that something had gone wrong. Ron Weasley had been scratched in the field. After taking the test he'd been confirmed as positive. Harry and Luna were inconsolable, screaming at Severus to do the test again over and over. Ron, ever the levelheaded man had called them both into quarantine to sit with him. The two of them had stayed with him in quarantine the entire time. A little under an hour later Ron Weasley had died. When he'd changed, there had been a single gunshot but when the two operatives had left quarantine, neither of them had said who'd fired. Dumbledore doubted they would have been able to talk anyway.

"He told me to look after her." It was choked but they could still hear.

Dumbledore's words softened dramatically. "I know. But eventually she will have to fight her own battles. It is a simple rescue and execute mission. I believe she went for a reason. I  _believe_  she wanted closure and this side mission was as close as she could get." Dumbledore moved closer and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "The only thing you can do is wait for her to return." Harry glared at his hand, at him and then left, slamming the door behind him.

He returned to his room in a surly mood. He paced and threw things and then paced some more. Finally he went to the training room to do some rounds. It was only when he heard the signal to let the occupants know there were people coming in, did he go to the infirmary. As he stormed his way there, people in the corridors moved out of his way. By the time he had reached the infirmary, two families had been cleared and were making their way to Lavender Brown, who was in charge of boarding. There had to be someone in charge, or else it would be a free-for-all. He disregarded them, and went inside.

Spotting Luna was not going to be hard, she was the one helping out with her own test and making Snape roll his eyes at every make-believe animal she had seen on her travels. Snape was actually glad to see him.

"You ever  _fucking_  do that again I'll kill you, you hear?"

Luna's eyes went from whimsically happy to hard in seconds. It always amazed him how she could do that. One minute you could swear she was in another world, the next you realise she knew more about this world than you. "You're not my dad, Harry."

Harry scoffed. "Oh, you better thank your fucking stars I'm not. You could have been killed."

Luna's eyes narrowed. "Don't treat me like an infant. You know as well as I do that I can take care of myself. I'm not being careless. I'm  _not_  Ron!" Her voice broke on his name but it was a hell of a lot stronger than the other times. Maybe she  _was_ getting closure. She reigned herself in a started again. "My life is mine to live and I'll risk it however I see fit. If I want to see him early, I will." She turned to Severus. "Quarantine, yeah?"

Snape nodded, his entire being taking on a new demeanour. "You know the way, Luna." She didn't need to go in, her test had been negative, but she'd gotten a scratch on her arm and wanted to make sure.

Harry suddenly felt sad. A turning in his stomach made him call out to her. "Hey, Weasley."

Luna stopped and stood stock still, her hands trembling. "What?" she asked shakily. He hadn't referred to her as that since... it hurt too much for anyone to call her that anymore. Everyone just called her Luna.

Harry swallowed. "You better not be infected. If you are, I'm keeping you in there until I find a cure, you hear me?"

Luna turned to face him, a smudge of dirt on her cheek that made her look endearing next to the long waves and deep blue eyes.  _It was always her eyes_ , Ron had told him once,  _they just... draw you in, you know? You can't help but smile back._  She watched him for a second before her mouth stretched into a small grin. "Do that, and when I do get out, you're the first one I'm coming after." The automated doors shut behind her and Harry stared at her foggy form though the frosted glass as it sat down to wait. Harry looked at the clock. It was two a.m.  _How am I going to survive the night now?_  he thought to himself. He idly nodded at Severus and left the sick bay, walking in a daze back to his room.

  


The doors of his room swished open and Harry stared into it. It looked the same as he'd left it, except for the blond man sitting down on his bed. Oh, what the fuck, now? he thought. His expression must have shown what he thought because Draco, who'd looked up the second he'd heard the door, bit his lip and closed his book sheepishly.

"They kinda shoved me in here." He frowned. "Actually, a pretentious young woman who said her name was 'Lavender' shoved me in here."

Lavender, Harry's mind growled menacingly. "Why?"

"Er... because you guys saved a lot of people and most of them were families who needed whole rooms. As you only have ten spare rooms, I was vacated. Dean and Seamus were helping her and told me to room in here; Seamus especially seemed pleased by it. I didn't know it was your room." When he received no response, he looked down. "I'll go find another room." He had been hoping after their time spent together in the library he would be getting a little better than a cold shoulder.

He was at the door when Harry put his hand up. "Where?" Harry asked him as if he knew there wasn't another room available. "Just sit down," he said and moved from the doorway. The door swished shut behind him.

Draco scrutinised him carefully. "I'd rather not. You're in a bit of a mood."

Harry let out a breath trying to steady himself. "I'm not in a mood."

Draco cocked an eyebrow. "I believe you."

"You..." Harry just sighed then. "Whatever."

Draco was close enough to the door that it opened itself. He turned, however, when he realised that Harry hadn't moved. "Are you okay?" he asked, now noticing the Major was a little off. He moved his head to see around him. "Has something happened?" Harry shook his head minutely. Draco went to stand in front of him hearing the whoosh of the door as it closed. He moved slowly so he wouldn't startle him. "Would... you like for me to stay?" he said carefully. Harry's head remained down. His shoulders were hunched as if hiding from him.

Draco scoffed slightly and shook his head. He had expected more than this. Much more. He turned away, feeling his hand brush against Harry's as he retreated.

He was stopped, however, when a hand curled itself around his little finger. Draco looked down at it. The grip tightened and Draco saw what the brunet had been hiding when he hesitantly raised his head. Steadily, those green eyes started to fill with water. Harry's head turned to face him. It wasn't that he wouldn't say it.

He just couldn't.

"Please, I-" Harry's didn't say anymore then because his throat closed around the words.

Draco didn't really need to hear anymore. He just pulled Harry into his arms. Harry wrapped his arms around his neck and held on. "She needs to be okay," he choked out. "I can't lose her. Not her too," he said shaking his head, "not her."

There was only one woman that could make Harry cry like this. "Is Luna in quarantine?" he asked softly angling his head to speak into Harry's ear.

Harry nodded against him not wanting to talk anymore. He'd already let out more than he'd meant to, to this man. As Draco solidified his hold, Harry felt his warm body, noticing it much more intimately than he had before. As he held him, he realised Draco's hard body was... very nice to hold onto. He shut his eyes as he held on tight to an anchor to keep him grounded.

Harry went to sleep for a little while, feeling a hand on the small of his back making circles there to calm him down and another in his hair. It was working. His eyes shut, and when they opened later, the hands had stilled but still rested where he'd left them. Minerva was stretched out shamelessly on her side next to them fast asleep. He didn't want to move but he was feeling stiff after being in one position for too long. The hand at the back of his head was tangled in his hair, he could feel it there the fingers wrapped around the dark tendrils. He stretched out his legs, relieving them, and turned a little into Draco, who was holding him pretty close. But Harry really didn't mind. Draco was warm and he smelled good. As his hand moved down the blond's side, past the t-shirt that had bunched up under his back, Harry noticed that he felt good too.

Harry raised his head, looking up to Draco's face. The blond was fast asleep, his mouth slightly open and his glasses askew. Wincing, Harry slowly untangled Draco's fingers from his hair. He knew that he'd probably been trying to comb it out. Even Luna had come at him with a comb from time to time. He reached up with one arm, as the other was trapped behind Draco's back and took off the thin wire frames. He had just put them down when Draco jumped awake looking around and wondering where he was. Eyes landing on Harry, he seemed to understand and rubbed his eyes clear.

"Oh, what time is it?" Harry turned over to catch a glimpse of the clock next to his bed.

"Just after four." Luna had either left for her room or stayed in the sick bay with Severus, knowing that she'd be accosted by Harry as soon as she stepped out of the door. Severus never allowed visitors inside after three a.m. and shot down anyone who got too close. Harry sighed, the action turning into a yawn that was closely accompanied by Draco, who tried hard not to smile as he shut his mouth. "Thank you for... what you did." Harry sat up properly and rubbed his face with his hands to wake himself up. "I'm not going to be able to get back to sleep, so I'm just going to take a shower." His room had a shower affixed to it, like all the rooms did. He left Draco sitting in the centre of the bed and picked up his towel. "I um..." he trailed off, not knowing what he was going to say, only knowing he couldn't take that look in Draco's eyes. They were filled with the determination to hide his disappointment. "You know what?" he asked more to himself than anyone else. He threw the towel down on the bed and grabbed a hold of Draco's hand. "Fuck it." As he pulled Draco closer, the blond's eyes grew wide as their mouths were pressed together. Harry's mouth was claiming his in a heated kiss that made Draco's toes curl. His eyes closed as he returned it, the kiss just on the edge of rough as all the sexual tension he'd been feeling for the past four days were suddenly unleashed.

Draco knelt on the bed, his hands twisting in Harry's hair and against his shoulder blades. He felt as the sinew flexed underneath the skin when Harry moved. Draco stroked appreciative hands over them before he inched his way down and practically tore the green t-shirt Harry wore over his head. The kiss broke for the first time and Draco stared him down, letting delight and lust dance over his face. When he smiled. Harry tackled him down.

  


Colin jumped up from his position asleep on the keyboard. He had been waiting for the test to finish in order to see whether he'd have to rewrite some sections of the source code. He sat up and stopped his arm in time from knocking over the cup of cold coffee that he did not remember being there before. He looked across the room to see Hermione's head in a book, literally. She was sleeping soundly on a tome that was now marked with drool.

Colin chuckled to himself and checked the screen one more time before going over to her. She was the woman of his dreams, she was. She had broken down for a while back there when they'd lost a member of the team. Hermione had signed on readily, knowing He'd be there and Colin had signed up only for her. When He'd gone and died on them all, Hermione had mourned for him. None of them had mourned more than Harry though. In a way, the man still was. Ron Weasley had been his best friend from childhood and he and Luna had become fast friends when Ron had started dating her. They had been the oddest couple, but everyone could tell - the way he looked at her, there was no competition for something like that. When they married, there was happiness all round, except of course, with Hermione. She had loved that man with all her heart. She'd even had the balls to try and talk him out of it. The tension between them after was one to chill even the warmest room. Luna never really spoke to her now unless she had to and Harry was one who didn't like to stand in the middle of things that had nothing to do with him. She was on her own. Colin had stood by her though. She didn't know, obviously, that he was in love with her. She was the sensible type and would probably ask to be transferred to another team.

He was pulling a blanket from the sofa to the side of the Computer Room and draping it over her when he heard a chirping noise. His eyes snapped up to the computer screen he'd left and he saw something flashing in yellow.

"Yes!" he said running over to it, not knowing that he had woken up Hermione in the process.

"What - what is it?" she said blurrily. She sat up and looked around groggily. "Urgh, what time is it?" she asked.

Colin was grinning like a mad man and it had her wary. "It's time," he said, "to call a meeting."

 

  


Harry moaned under the onslaught of Draco's lips and tongue as they devoured his mouth. Draco was rolling his hips in strategic circles and it was driving him insane. His fingers skimmed the hem of Draco's t-shirt and pulled it up and over his head. He was devouring the juncture where neck met shoulder even before the item of clothing was free. Draco's skin was so warm. The heat warmed his hands through and he smiled through his kisses, crazily thankful for it because he hadn't even known his hands were cold. Harry then reached down between the bed and the small of Draco's back, traversing lower over the curve of Draco's arse and squeezed.

Draco arched a little with the gesture moaning into the kiss with abandon and moving his hands into the dark strands of hair to have something to grip onto. Harry reached behind him then, working him open with evident impatience and the lube he'd summoned to his fingers. One finger and then two entered him stretching him open. Draco grew impatient and wriggled around to at least get them to go deeper. The wriggling, however, was Harry's undoing. Settling his hands on the blond's hips, he stilled him and lined himself up to thrust.

He hissed as he breached the tight ring. Everything about Draco was heat and inside of him was no different. Draco was hot inside, like fire and so tight. His ring of hot muscle was clenching around Harry's cock with the most delicious force possible and Harry very nearly lost it. His eyes rolled back as he stilled, trying to calm himself down. It proved tricky though because Draco was writhing there beneath him again and the stimulus was hell on his self-control. When he couldn't take it anymore, he made one swift thrust and buried himself in one fluid stroke.

Draco's face contorted in a grimace of disbelieving pleasure. His brows furrowed, his lips fell provocatively open and his back arched sinfully. Then there was the moan, the drawn out, deep and lust saturated moan. He wanted to hear it again. Harry let his hips rock into Draco again and again trying to prolong the sound, his hand finding purchase on Draco's cock and pumping in time with his thrusts. He liked to hear Draco moan. He liked hearing how Draco's breath would catch every time Harry hit his prostate. Harry pumped faster, rewarded when Draco pulled his head down to kiss him flush on his lips, devouring him whole. Trailing to the corner of his mouth, Harry moved to his throat and collarbone. He now felt as well as heard that moan and he grinned, moaning himself when Draco tightened around him.

Draco wasn't thinking very clearly. There were spots just to the top corners of his eyes and he wasn't sure what they were but every time Harry hit his prostate they got bigger and obstructed more of his vision. His eyes rolled back as one particularly hard thrust had him arching his back and keening. He had to distract the man or he'd go blind, he was sure of it. He felt around and found a shoulder and traced it upwards to a neck and then buried the fingers in the dark hair he knew was there. Hearing the moan, he couldn't resist tugging on it a little more to hear it again. Then he pulled purposefully directing that's mouth's attention to his own. The thrusts he was receiving were edging him closer and closer to the edge and he needed grounding, he needed an anchor. And as Harry's mouth covered his own, he felt his breath taken away from the sheer devotion he put into it. When air became an issue, they parted, eyes watching each other before rejoining in a kiss that was much tamer, their tongues battling playfully as Harry's thrusts became purposeful and determined.

Harry panted harder as his pace stepped up out of instinct. He hadn't done this in a long time so he was pretty much running off instinct this entire time. Draco didn't seem to be complaining though, so he guessed he was doing alright. Soon the sensations became too much for Draco, and he trembled in his orgasm. Harry pounded harder into him, pushed over the edge from Draco's muscles contracting and clenching around him and feeling the heat of Draco's release over his hand.

The rhythmic rise and fall of Draco's chest drew his attention as they lay in the afterglow for a while and Harry waved a hand over them both to clean up. "That won't be enough. We'll need a shower, still."

"Hmm," Draco said and turned toward him fully prepared to ignore him and go to sleep.

Harry got up and pulled on Draco's hands anyway. "No, come on. Quickly. If we oversleep, at least we'll be clean." Though he pouted the entire time, Draco still followed him as Harry tugged him along.

They spent a lot longer in the shower than they were meant to.

 

  


"The signal's source is from City Hall. We already know this and signal changes from time to time. Of course it's been the same for the last few days. To find Remus Lupin. However, there is some information we got from the attachments that has us kind of awed. It features our Minister. Here, look up at the screen." The images from his computer went up to the main screen and everyone turned. "This is Project Eepa-whatsit."

"Υπακουοι."

"Whatever, Remus. Now look here, the project has been going on for only three weeks but all this information has been gathered about Necromancy, Potions and Transfigurations. It's like they were looking for a way to raise the dead."

"So, we did this?" Dean asked.

"Not quite. You see, all of it doesn't mean anything because when the name Melanie Harford comes in, all of it is scrapped into a folder and never used again."

"Isn't she the Muggleborn that started all this?" Luna asked.

"Not quite," Hermione answered her. Luna looked at her and cocked an eyebrow. "She was the first one infected this time but she wasn't what started this, not really. It was Minister Fudge."

Harry's eyebrows rose. "What?" he said in disbelief.

Colin took over here. "The Ministry, namely, Fudge, was the funding for this project. His name is over everything and Dr. Vector names him specifically in her email. This girl, something about her sparked his interest and she was brought into the project and then disposed of seven days ago."

Harry snapped his fingers. "She rose again. They were looking for things like Necromancy, they have that in common."

"Could be. Four days ago the product of the project was launched. The notes start off around eight o'clock progressing through blood checks and vitals, and then around eight twenty-six, whoever was taking notes stopped."

"Or they were stopped," Dean said. "You said it yourself, they were raising the dead. If it's the dead like we have around now, I think my version is much more likely."

Colin smacked himself in the head. "Oh my god."

"What?" Neville asked a little pale faced.

"That thing they created. Merlin, why didn't I think of it before?"

"Because you were passing out on your keyboard?" Hermione said.

Colin ignored her. "The signal has been at City Hall for about four days now. It had moved from another location to there before. I'm not sure, but it could be that the signal isn't rerouting but the station it's coming from is."

Everyone looked confused, even Hermione. Colin started again. "This thing that was created. It was linked to those computers. It was 'born' if you will, four nights ago, using those computers that are maintaining the link but the signal... the signal as I saw it wasn't launched until much later. If whatever they created is the source of the signal, all it needs is a computer to connect to and send it. It will broadcast straight from Bio-Molecular."

Harry was frowning trying to figure that out. "Um, so what you're saying is, Fudge helped to create a zombie, which has presently made a home for itself at City Hall, that has connected itself to Muggle technology and is using that technology to control other zombies, am I correct?" It sounded unbelievable.

Colin nodded. "In a nutshell."

"Cool," Blaise said. They all turned to him and Blaise had the grace to look sheepish. "I mean that in a totally disgusting, horrifying, can't-believe-they-did-that kind of way, of course." In the following pause they turned back to Collin.

"And what can we do to stop it?"

Collin continued typing. "We can kill the message signal. No matter where it is, this 'main server zombie'," he said as if introducing the newest Barbie doll, "is connecting its mind wirelessly to the computers in Bio Molecular. We can change the message signal it is sending to all the other zombies first and then kill the main connection between it and the company."

"Why don't we just kill the main signal?"

"Because then we'd have hundreds of wild bloodthirsty zombies to kill when I can just tell them to kill themselves," Colin said shrugging. "We can reprogram it. I just need to get into the computer server at City Hall that's routing to Bio Molecular to broadcast it and change the signal. I can do it from here. All you need to do is get to it. I downloaded blueprints for City Hall-"

"You know, they call it the testicle building," Seamus said. When he looked around at people watching he said, "What? Boris Johnson himself called it the Glass Gonad."

"Anyway," Collin continued. "The main server is located on floor 9½, half a floor below the roof. It's just below the public viewing deck. Not many know it's there, hell the high-ranking officials don't even know it's there. It's just computers and stuff so it doesn't need a lot of room but there's space for a person to go through to monitor or fix things if they break down." Colin continued to type.

Draco stared at him. "How the hell do you have access to this?"

Colin grinned, though he didn't take his eyes off the screen as his fingers rapidly flew across the keyboard. "Practice."

"So, how long until you can give us a program thingy?" Blaise said.

Colin exited what he had on the screen before pulling out a small device that had been connected to the computer. "It's already done. This is a USB portable drive or more lovingly known as a flash drive. Plug it into any hole that looks like this," he said pointing to the USB port he'd pulled it from. "As soon as it's done, I'm in. The program I wrote can reconfigure the signal and then stop it altogether. Just plug it in. Muggle technology, you've got to love it." He grinned.

"That's all we have to do?" Seamus asked seeming a little put out.

"That's all you have to do." Colin nodded, missing Seamus' disappointment. He gave the flash drive to Luna and sat back down.

"Merlin, Muggles take the fun out of everything." Seamus shook his head and left the room with the rest of them to get ready.

  


"This is new," Seamus said.

"What is?" Harry said, looking around Queen's walk for anything suspicious. Luna was on his other side watching him and grinning the entire time. He could see her face through the, now clear, screen of her helmet. He rolled his eyes at her again. She'd been like that since she'd come to get him to go to the meeting that morning. She'd found both he and Draco in the shower together. "What do you  _want_ , Luna?" he said very much like a big brother would tell his little sister after her thousandth request to  _'come and play'_.

She grinned. "Nothing."

"I'm just saying it's strange to be fighting zombies in the daytime is all. Isn't it freaking you out?" he heard Seamus say, who apparently had kept up his conversation with Blaise when Harry hadn't seemed interested.

Harry had to admit though, it was eerie. The daylight was putting him off and making him jumpy. He was used to working at night. Everything moved and made noise during the day and you tended to ignore it. Things didn't move at dark and you couldn't ignore noises at night, you were kept more alert. He kept thinking he was missing something. City Hall was just on the other side of Potters Fields Park and, as they rounded it, Harry became more and more nervous. There was something wrong.

He was crouched behind a dustbin when he realised why.

"Is that... Minister Fudge's advisor?" Luna said oddly. "He's got the look of a Spring Fairy in Winter."

Harry was about to answer her when he realised what she said. "What?"

" _He doesn't know whether to run and hide or be sick_ ," Dean explained looking out from his position near the river bank. Harry was still confused. From his silence over the airwaves, Dean said, " _You_ were _in Care of Magical Creatures weren't you?_ " He sighed. " _Spring Fairies are notoriously sick when they are exposed to other seasons. They either run and hide in the warmth, or get ill, throw up and die in the snow._ " Dean sounded very bored.

 _"Actually_ ," Draco piped up from his place at base. " _Spring Fairies do that when faced with anything out of the ordinary for them, winter is just the worst of them all."_

" _One was even reported to have died after seeing a man piss in the woods,_ " Sirius said over the radio waves laughing.

Harry made a face. "And this is supposed to make sense to me?"

"It's supposed to make sense to people who know about Spring Fairies," Seamus said.

"And what," he said to Luna, "in the history of you knowing me gives you the impression I would know about  _Spring Fairies_?"

 _"Everyone knows about Spring Fairies, Harry_ ," said Neville over the radio even as Luna whispered, ' _Do you really want me to answer that over the radio?'_. He was stationed on the other side of City Hall waiting on instructions.

"Even Ron knew about them, Harry." Luna rolled her eyes.

Harry shook his head. "Whatever." Looking back to the side of his bin, he saw the reason for Luna's strange remark. Philmonius Blackstork, the Minister of Magic's Chief advisor was reading something from a long piece of parchment. That wasn't the strange part, though. The strange part was who, or rather,  _what_  he was reading it to.

It was tall, and far too pale skinned to be human. It was dead, but alive and impeccably dressed. Harry was watching it carefully. It looked very familiar. "Colin are you getting this?" he said.

 _"Yeah... wow,"_  Colin said as he brought up the camera view on his big screen.

 _"Yummy,"_  Draco said. _"Pale,"_  he added almost sorry for the fact,  _"but tasty, damn."_ There was a hmm of agreement that sounded like Hermione in the background. Harry and Luna rolled their eyes.

"Vampire?" Seamus asked.

Luna shook her head. "Zombie."

Seamus made a surprised and impressed face then chanced another glance before settling down again. "Wow, they're making them better these days. What happened to the breed that attacked us before?"

Harry snorted. "We killed them all."

The Irishman frowned. "So they noticed the error of their ways and went all designer on us?" Seamus looked around the bin. "I wish I could dress like that."

Luna was smiling. "Seamus," she said and waited for him to turn to her. "Just, never change, okay?" Seamus shrugged.

_"They're moving inside. Be on the lookout and remember, you have to get to the top floor before you can get below it."_

"To think, we have to climb all those stairs," Seamus said.

_"It doesn't have stairs, it has a spherical ramp. You just run upwards, like a ten storey hill."_

"Oh."

_"I can't really see anything inside because the cameras are hooked up to their computer system. As soon as you're in, plug in the drive and I can help you with everything."_

That was all Harry needed to hear. "Alright guys, you heard the man. Let's go."

  


"Ooh, I can see my Gran's house from here!" Seamus was standing on the Photomap, looking for places he knew. Dean was looking up and around while Neville was at the doors keeping watch. Since the tall good-looking zombie and the Minister's advisor had left, they hadn't seen anything. The whole place was empty. Harry and Luna had gone ahead upstairs with Blaise and were trying to get to the computer system.

"You could try doing your job, Seamus," Dean said without even looking at him. "Like, perhaps, looking around for danger instead of trying to find landmarks when we all know you don't know any."

"I knew City Hall and I know Big Ben."

"I stand corrected. Let me rephrase. When we all know you don't know any without phallic connotations."

"Prick. You will miss me when I'm gone."

  


The hatch was surprisingly easy to find. Luna fit inside and located a USB plug and slotted it in. "It's done, Colin." She made her way back out and hoisted herself back onto the sightseeing deck. "Shit!" she yelled and called out Harry's name as she stood up.

Harry turned around seeing a gruesome face very close to him and jumped back. "Whoa, ugly!" Blaise said and shot a round from his gun by reflex. It landed in the zombie's skull and it fell to the ground. It was then that they heard more shots of gunfire in the distance.

"They're attacking, why are they attacking? Colin!" Harry yelled through his radio.

" _Hold on! The signal's changed I have to reconfigure the code, just give me a second_ ," they heard in response.

" _Could you at least tell us what it says?_ " That was Seamus. Harry rolled his eyes. Of course that was Seamus.

" _Um... 'get the people in black suits and helmets'. Just that over and over. Wow, they're very straightforward._ "

"Oh yes," Harry said sarcastically. "Let's all praise them for their stark directness. Can we kill a few now?" he added angrily

" _On it, Major_!" came the chorus of operatives from downstairs just before a loud round of gunfire sounded.

"Hello, Major Harry Potter." Harry swung around with Luna and Blaise.

"Minister Fudge," Blaise said in accusation.

All Harry could think about was the Minister funding that project on obedience. What would a Minister want with something like that? Then it hit him. "Obedience," Harry said to himself. "Is that why you funded money for all those experiments? So you could have control of your population? It would be a bit hard to do if we're all brain dead."

Minister Fudge frowned at him for a time and then he smiled. "No, no, Harry, my boy. I couldn't care less about the population. I funded those experiments to save my  _son_."

"Your-" Then Harry touched on what he had remembered downstairs. The thing that Fudge had funded to create, that he'd used computers to make obedient, that Fudge's advisor was talking to, he knew he'd seen him before. When he heard Luna gasp, he turned. All he got to see before he was knocked out, however, was a pale face before something sharp hit him in the sternum and his helmet was yanked off.

  


"Ah, I see you've woken up, Harry."

"What the hell is going on?" he said and looked around him. He could see his other operatives passed out and tied to chairs on one side of the room while he was set in the middle. There was a crowd of zombies in the corner and they were all staring hungrily at him, his troop and at the Minister. This made him raise his eyebrow. It seemed their mindset was still the same. The monster next to the Minister, no matter how well it dressed, was still a monster and he stared at it with as much intensity as it did to him.

"You must understand Harry, it has to be this way."

"Your son died eight months ago."

Fudge gestured to the thing beside him. "I brought him back. He looks much better, I must say. That girl we modelled him from, she was wild and unstable and I feared he would be like her. But they built into him with wireless chips, the control I needed to keep him as close to human as possible. When she died and then came back, they killed her but I had her brought straight to the company headquarters. She was disposed of after we were finished with her, obviously. But when he was created, he was not controllable, not yet. He killed a few and their bodies escaped and killed more until you see what we have today, he said gesturing into the corner. But he, my dear son, he did as he was programmed to do. He came straight to me and as soon as I said the right word -"

"You mean eepa-whatsit?"

Fudge's eyes narrowed. "I see Dr. Vector spilled many secrets before Devon got to her. I had hoped the postage she sent to Remus Lupin would have been intercepted. Once I found out she had sent out all of our data, I had no choice but to try and stop it. Muggle technology, though, is too fast for us. But no one was too fast for my boy. Bet she even tried to say the program word a few times herself. Too bad it only works for me." He waved a hand in dismissal. "Either way, he has been docile ever since. He's just like he once was. Minus a few flaws," he added serenely.

"And a tan." Fudge looked at him sharply and the monster beside him growled at him.

"Easy, my boy, easy. He'll be gone soon."

Harry remembered the articles surrounding the Minister's son's death. It had been horribly tragic. One trip to the Muggle world and he'd been the victim of a stray bullet. The Minister had mourned for weeks. Even more so when the body had been stolen. He had cried to the press, calling on the perpetrators to give him back his son so he could bury him in peace. Harry shook his head. Those crocodile tears certainly worked.

"You do realise you've killed your son."

"My son was already dead."

"And you killed him, all over again."

The Minister stood up in anger and his son hissed. "I  _saved_  him. He is my only family, I could not see him die. He was my  _world_. And this world took him away from me!" He sat down and Harry could see the craziness in his eyes. "But I took him back," he said pompously proud of his achievement. The price others had to pay with their lives didn't matter to this man. He settled in place. "I had a research team gather all they could on raising the dead. But everything I got was ridiculous. Necromancy brought people back a shell of their former selves, I wanted  _my_  son. Then that disease," he said spitting out the word, "spread in the Muggle world and they started dropping like flies. When that little girl caught it, that Muggleborn girl, we were all upset but Muggles have a way of spreading their diseases. Our people reacted much the way anyone would. The entire Wizarding world separated from the Muggle world completely, we came out only when it was detrimental. When she died, we mourned her. But when she came back, she was feared. She tried to consume others and they had her killed. But she was my salvation, my Devon's salvation.

"He had been kept on ice and I had lent my magic to keep his body perfect. They had brought in Muggle scientists and traded ideas and theories. You have to forgive my ignorance of their world; I have had little need for it until now. I am still learning the jargon." He looked like he was trying to make a joke but Harry wasn't laughing. "By the time it was completed, they'd mixed my son's blood with hers and then put it back in him. They'd connected his brain to machines and used some kind of waves to activate the right areas and the chips with no wires." He shook his head as if it were all too confusing. "All I know is that now my son is back with me, he understands me even if he doesn't talk and," he said pausing for dramatic effect, "he can control  _them_ ," he ended pointing to the group of zombies in the corner. "Not every father's delight," he said in compromise, "but if he wants pets, what can I do?" he said shrugging and patted Devon on the head.

"Get rid of him," Harry said obviously.

Narrowed eyes met his suggestion. "No."

Harry huffed in frustration. "You must know somewhere deep down that this is wrong. If he controls them and you control him why aren't  _we_  dead yet?" he said gesturing to his team. He summoned his magic to his fingers and began to undo to rope that tied him. He prayed that Colin could get the signal changed by now.

"Is that a request Mr. Potter? I can grant it." He sat back. "All I want is for my son and I to be left alone. We will be leaving soon. You won't ever see us again."

"And what happens when you die? Do we get a repeat if there is no one else to control him?" Harry asked spitefully. "We'll only come after him then too. Kill him on sight, we will."

"Then perhaps I should send a message for your entire base to be wiped clean?" Harry's eyes widened. That was something Harry didn't want, Colin may have to reconfigure his code all over again. He didn't have to worry about it though. Chaos in the corner drew their attention when snarls and growls accompanied the swinging of arms and creation of bloodshed. The zombies were tearing each other apart as if it were a Metallica Mosh Pit. Harry smiled to himself.

_Colin, you clever boy._

Fudge stood up to see them clearly and, as the last one fell after snapping off its own head, looked like he would throw up. Then, Devon started to growl and snarl as he clutched his head. It looked like he was in a great deal of pain. From the corner of his eyes, Harry saw stirring from his team. Blaise and Dean looked to be waking up, they were wincing as if they had headaches and Harry bet they did, his head was still smarting.

Devon was thrashing about as if his head was being burrowed out by flies. Harry watched in fascination as Fudge tried to calm him down but got pushed away. The old man landed on his arse after tumbling over the chair he'd been sitting on. Devon then shook his head as if fighting off the pain and as his eyes moved from side to side, they focussed on Harry. It took a running jump at him but, because Harry's hands had been untied for the better part of ten minutes, he managed to roll away and stand just as Devon crashed into the plastic. He landed on the floor. Clutching his head more, he stood shakily and came at Harry again, who dodged repeatedly knowing that fighting with a zombie was not something you did unless you were asking for a nick or a spatter of blood to happen. He wasn't stupid. He managed to get away from it again and run back to his team untying Luna first so she could help him with the ropes. She took out her wand but screamed at him to get down before she got a spell out. Harry ducked without thinking.

It was the wrong move.

Devon had been going low. Harry fell and Devon was looming over him. His head was still in pain but the smile said he knew he had won. As he moved to attack again a sharp loud sound of a gun rang throughout the room and Devon's eyes went vacant. The blood spattered to his right just as his body followed it, the force of the gunshot carving his route to the ground.

Harry watched him fall, his heart rate high and his breath panting in short breaths. Looking to his own right he saw Luna there, her gun still traced on the body on the ground. He got up and went to her, feeling her shaking but knowing that deep down she was actually elated. Finally. She had done for him what she hadn't been able to do for Ron. She was crying but when she looked at him she dropped her gun and hugged him.

"It's time to go home."

"You killed him!" They all turned to see Fudge staring at his son's body on the ground. The gunshot wound in his head was large. Luna hadn't been kidding around. "You shot him, again!" the inconsolable man cried.

Luna used her wand to tie him up. "We'll need to get him to the Ministry. They may actually be surprised about where all their funding had been going these last weeks." She pulled Harry to her again to hug him tight. Watching the body on the floor, she couldn't help but get lost in the memory. "I did it."

Harry tightened his hold not needing to ask what she meant. "You did it," he said, "and I couldn't be prouder."

"Guys!" Seamus said in exasperation. They both turned to see the rest of the team lined up next to each other still tied to the chairs. "Sorry to ruin your bonding moment but, could we get some help?" Harry and Luna looked at each other before bursting out into laughter.

  


"You are resisting I do not advise it." Harry grinned at Draco, who was leaning over him naked as the day he was born. Harry had been dressed for the past fifteen minutes to go to the award ceremony that Draco was trying effortlessly to make him skip.

"Draco -" He was saved by a knock at the door.

"Harry, are you ready yet? We have to go!" Luna called through the door.

"I have to go, Draco. I'll see you later." He picked up his hat and rushed out the door leaving the blond with narrowed eyes to glare at him.

The ceremony was wonderful, if a little dull. He received a medal along with his team, including Colin, for all his hard work and dedication a month ago. London had welcomed back its inhabitants one week after the terror had ended. No one knew what was happening now but the Muggle officials were doing their best to calm the masses.

When the ceremony was over, the company had been dismissed and Harry and Luna made their way to the side to avoid all the jovial hugs and handshakes.

They walked down the side of the facility and out the back to the multitude of hills and mountains that made up the Scottish countryside. They had a view of the courtyard, but were far enough away that no one would notice them. "He would be very proud of you." Luna smiled at his comment.

"Thank you. You too." She looked around the grounds and saw Colin and Hermione receiving hugs from Dumbledore. She looked away.

"Why are you angry at her again?" Harry said following her gaze and then looking back out over the grounds. The hills were wide, green and sloping. The view was beautiful. Harry remembered Luna and Ron being married in that courtyard.

"Because she tried to convince my husband to leave me."

"And he didn't. He loved you until he died. So... why are you angry at her again?" he said smiling.

Luna rolled her eyes and whacked him on the shoulder. "Allow a widow her bitter pleasures, Potter." She grinned devilishly then. "Speaking of pleasures," she added. "How goes it with your own librarian?" She laughed.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, he's certainly a handful and I'm never bored." He smiled then. "But he's my handful and my life could do with some action that didn't include work."

"Bet you get a handful too." Harry laughed with her. She paused after she sobered. Looking him in his eyes she tucked a strand of wayward hair behind his ears, rolling her eyes as she did so. "I'm so happy for you, Harry Potter." The Scottish lilt in her voice as she said his name reminded him strongly of the day they'd first met in school.

Harry's eyes softened. "Thank you." He smirked wickedly then. "Now all we have to do is find you someone dashing and I can be happy for you too. I hear Blaise can do wonderful things," he said winking at her and then began to run away when the shocked 'o' on her face turned into narrowed eyes.

"Harry Potter, you get back here!" she yelled at him as she chased him down the hill, his echoing laughter only spurring her on.

~Fin~


End file.
